If time allowed, Li Younan even planned to drive directly to Wenchuan.
In the car, they were all talking about horse riding. Mom asked curiously, "Have you ever ridden a horse before?"
Li Younan replied without missing a beat, "How could I have? Never ridden one. Does a merry-go-round count?"
Mom laughed and teased, then said, "My son is truly talented, riding a horse so well on the first try."
Zhao Xiaofang also said, "Seeing Younan ride so fast just now, I was a bit scared, but he looked much more stable on the horse’s back than I expected."
Zhao Ruoxuan asked curiously, "Brother Younan, weren’t you afraid when riding just now? Weren’t you scared of falling off going so fast? I was terrified just from a little bump."
Li Younan said seriously, "You need to exercise regularly, with a good physical condition, it’ll be much easier at least."
Zhao Ruoxuan’s mom often told Zhao Ruoxuan to exercise, which she usually scoffed at, but now she listened very attentively and nodded.
The car arrived at Songpan, known in ancient times as Songzhou, an important stop for Princess Wencheng on her way to marry Songtsen Gampo.
But as expected, the high altitude meant that the three women didn’t sleep well at night.
When they got up the next day, they were yawning, while Li Younan was full of energy.
It must be said, the passive skill of high-altitude lineage, without any active effects or specialties, is truly divine skill.
In such a high-altitude place, he adapted even better than the locals.
Ever since acquiring this skill, Li Younan felt like he could get sleepy whenever he wanted.
It’s easy to understand, as during sleep the consumption of oxygen is less, and the strong blood oxygen capacity ensures a continuous supply of oxygen, so as long as there’s no lack of oxygen, sleep quality would be excellent.
However, Li Younan still felt sorry for his mom, who kept yawning, so he took them to have a bowl of local specialty beef offal before setting off again.
Traveling from Songpan to Wenchuan, the scenery along the way was not as pleasant as before.
This section of the road could even be considered quite bad, with many semi-trailers or dump trucks going to and from the Sichuan-Tibet line or Gansu, making overtaking troublesome.
Moreover, these heavy vehicles had damaged a lot of the road surfaces.
The road was almost built along the mountain, with a cliff and river often on one side, but Li Younan was attentive and drove this section carefully, given his skills, no unexpected incidents occurred.
In the afternoon, they finally reached Wenchuan. Around this time, Ma Jing sent a message asking Li Younan where he was.
Li Younan told Ma Jing that he was now in Wenchuan and planned to stay for one or two days before returning directly to Anchuan, ending the journey.
Ma Jing said she would arrive in Wenchuan in the evening, and asked Younan to inform her when they were leaving, so they could go together.
This journey left the three people in the car a bit dazed. Even though Li Younan’s driving was very steady, long car rides aren’t a very good experience.
Mom felt okay, but Zhao Ruoxuan and Zhao Xiaofang both took a nap, woke up with neck pain and messy hair.
Eventually, Zhao Ruoxuan concluded that travel is best kept within three days.
To be honest, Wenchuan is not very touristy. The main attraction is in Yingxiu Town, where there’s an earthquake memorial site.
Honestly, Li Younan was somewhat reluctant to go there because it felt too heavy.
But then he thought about how young Ruoxuan was, having not experienced the 2008 earthquake, and decided it would be educational for her.
Yingxiu is only half an hour’s drive from Wenchuan, so after a brief rest, they set off directly.
On the way to Yingxiu, driving along the Min River, the mountains were tall and the water rushed fiercely.
Mom and Zhao Xiaofang chatted about someone’s wedding while Ruoxuan leaned against the car window, doodling circles on the fogged-up glass with her fingers.
It wasn’t until they saw the Yingxiu road sign that they suddenly fell silent.
At the entrance stood a cracked marble clock sculpture, hands frozen at 14:28.
The guide pointed to the leaning main teaching building behind it, explaining it was originally five stories tall but now crumpled to three, with 19 students and 2 teachers still buried underneath.
The concrete rubble looked like it had been squeezed by a giant, with steel bars protruding from the cracks.
Li Younan felt a lump in his throat and could only shake his head.
To the left was the stairwell which, due to its triangular shape, hadn’t collapsed.
But the adjacent lecture hall had completely crumbled, with the five-story building reduced to a pile of bricks.
The guide said that during the earthquake, students were on the top floor, and as the walls cracked, some jumped out the windows. Many fourth-floor students didn’t make it out.
Tiptoeing, Zhao Ruoxuan touched the cracked stair railing, causing cement dust to fall.
Rounding the ruins, Aunt Zhao suddenly stopped. At the end of a slope stood a tilted flagpole with a faded red flag fluttering noisily in the wind.
Though buildings collapsed during the earthquake, the national flag stood firm.
The collective graveyard was at the top of the slope, with rows of black tombstones embedded in the earth.
As they descended, Zhao Ruoxuan remained silent.
The remnants of buildings in the distant remains of the field gradually shrunk into a small gray dot, while the sound of the Min River grew louder, enveloping them heavily.
With the visit completed, Li Younan collected his emotions and took them back to the county town.
By dinnertime, everyone’s mood had lifted.
After all, they were on a trip, and although visiting the memorial brought on heavy feelings, they had since improved.
Wenchuan’s altitude is significantly lower than Songpan or Ruoergai, making it much more comfortable physically. Aunt Zhao’s headache was gone, although she felt slightly regretful that the journey was nearly over.
At this moment, Li Younan began examining the rewards for the visit.
[Plant Identification lv.1: You have an understanding of the basic information of all extant, non-extinct plants...]
Previously, Li Younan hadn’t seriously considered this skill, but with the knowledge flooding into his mind, he quickly realized it was a survival skill for the wilderness.
He couldn’t claim deep knowledge of plants, like knowing their protein, fiber, or fructose content, etc.
His knowledge was basic, most not very practically useful, yet some information was crucial, like whether they were edible, poisonous, or had other functions like repelling mosquitoes or stopping bleeding.
This was precisely a skill for surviving alone in the wilderness!
If memorizing this much information, he wondered how long it would take.
After dropping Mom and them at the hotel, Ma Jing called to say she’d arrived in Wenchuan and asked when they would leave for Anchuan.
After some thought, Li Younan realized that although the plan was originally seven to eight days, only five had passed, but Mom and the others seemed quite exhausted, not wanting to continue. So, he decided to depart the next day.

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